Hi, I’m Melissa Theodorus and I volunteer at my local library, the Fairfield Cordelia Library, every Saturday. The library is one of the many Solano County Library branches. The library is a great place to pick up books, movies, and CDs.

I love volunteering at the library. It’s so close to my house that I can just bike there. I love to read, so I’m always picking books up from the library anyway. It really lets me get to know the library more. Now it’s like my second home. I love all the librarians there. They’re super nice and friendly. Volunteering gave me a new understanding of a librarian’s job. It isn’t all that easy as it seems.

Over the summer, I got to help with setting up for the Summer Reading Program. I would prepare and help make crafts with the kids. One recent Saturday, I was there cutting out and making the little challenge passports for the new Solano Kids Read Challenge. I hope they will encourage kids to read more. Sometimes I help take books off the shelves. Then I fix the DVD cases, so they will look better for the next person to use. And usually, on Saturdays, a dog comes for Read to a Dog, which is always fun to see.

Volunteering there makes me feel like I’m contributing back to my community. It’s so much better than me spending my time binge-watching Netflix all day.

The Armijo Signal is looking for other students who volunteer for upcoming issues. Could that be you? If you are interested in sharing your volunteer experience with others, respond in the Comments section below or email [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you!